Brisbane Roar defender James Donachie has been selected in Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Paul Okon’s 26-player squad for a European training camp from 19-31 May.
Brisbane Roar defender James Donachie has been selected in Qantas Young Socceroos Head Coach Paul Okon-s 26-player squad for a European training camp from 19-31 May.
The trip will include international friendly matches against the Netherlands U-21 Men-s Team (Friday, 24 May) and the German U-21 Men-s National Team (Friday, 31 May).
Donachie, who turned 20 earlier this week, is one of 19 players drawn from the Hyundai A-League while seven players have been selected from overseas clubs.
Okon will be using this European training camp as his final look at the players before naming his squad for the upcoming FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 (21 June – 12 July 2013).
“Our recent training camps in Australia have been extremely beneficial for our preparations, especially the last two weeks when we have been able to train with the older national team players,” Okon said.
“The experience of working with the older players has given us a good indication of where we are at and what we need to do to perform at a high level.
“I am really pleased with the progress that we have made and the high standards we have now set.
“For this European tour we have merged the overseas and domestic players together and we will be looking to improve even more.
“We have two tough matches against quality opposition who are both preparing for the UEFA U-21 Championships which begin next month in Israel so we know we are in for a good challenge will need to be focused to play them at their level.
“From these matches we will get a good indication on what is required to be competitive at the FIFA U20 World Cup.
“This will be the last chance for the players to stake their claim for a position in the final squad which we will announce in early June.”
Qantas Young Socceroos Squad – European Tour – 19 to 31 May 2013
Mustafa Amini (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Nicholas Ansell (Melbourne Victory), Terry Antonis (Sydney FC), Anthony Bouzanis (gk) (Sydney FC), Joshua Brillante (Newcastle Jets), Reece Caira (Western Sydney Wanderers), Connor Chapman (Newcastle Jets), Travis Cooper (VVV Venlo, Netherlands), Daniel De Silva (Perth Glory), James Donachie (Brisbane Roar), Jack Duncan (gk) (Perth Glory), Ryan Edwards (Reading FC, England), Scott Galloway (Melbourne Victory), Ben Garuccio (Melbourne Heart), Jason Geria (Melbourne Victory), Curtis Good (Newcastle United, England),Hagi Gligor (Sydney FC), Andrew Hoole (Newcastle Jets), Jackson Irvine (Celtic FC, Scotland), Paul Izzo (gk) (Adelaide United), Jamie Maclaren (Blackburn Rovers, England), Connor Pain (Melbourne Victory), Adam Taggart (Newcastle Jets), David Vrankovic (Melbourne Heart), Jeremy Walker (Melbourne Heart), Ryan Williams (Fulham FC, England)
Netherlands U-20 Men-s Team v Qantas Young Socceroos
Friday 24 May 2013
Univé Stadium, Emmen, Netherlands
Kick-Off 6:30pm (2:00am AEST)
Germany U-20 Men-s Team v Qantas Young Socceroos
Friday 31 May 2013
Venue TBA
Kick-Off 10:00am (6:00pm AEST)
